NIPPON PARK. Written by. Reginald Grünenberg

Transcription

1 NIPPON PARK Written by Reginald Grünenberg Reginald Grünenberg +49-xxx-xxxxxxxxxxx Berlin - Germany

2 1. FADE IN: EXT. OPEN SEA - NIGHT AERIAL SHOT A supersized silvery moon with the traits of its mountainous face well recognizable shines on the iridescent surface of the sea. In a VERY LONG SHOT from far above an otherworldly moonlit white spot appears in about a mile distance. While getting closer it turns out to be a sail. Its shape is circular and it s gently swollen in the breeze. From a birds-eye view just above the catamaran-like vessel a young woman lying on the canvas between the two hulls is discernible, NINGENKAN. Her midlong, bob-cut dark hair covers her face. Her feet are naked, she wears a kind of light cotton-kimono. EXT. BOAT - NIGHT A swashing noise swells, indicating that something is going on in the water. A swarm of unidentifiable creatures flashes by. One of them lands accidentally on Chieko. She doesn t budge. The animal, a small squid, uses its tentacles to crawl down from her and back into the black water. EXT. BOAT - DAY DISSOLVE TO: The wind blows the hair aside from Chieko s face. She is between life and death. Her face is swollen and sunburnt, her lips are chapped. She s about 20 years old and looks Japanese in a dollish way. ESTABLISHING SHOT The tiny boat in front of the impressive skyline of thousands of monumental brown, grey and somewhat rusty high-rises with small, blind windows. There is no coastline or beach, the buildings on the waterfront pop out of the sea.

3 2. In the background they are crammed on the slopes of the hills. The view is dismal, although the sun is shining. WRITTEN ON SCREEN: BUSAN, NEW CHINA, 2169 AERIAL SHOT This is a dirty, smoldering, buzzing and loud place. The scenic view displays the amphitheatric topography of this major coastal city in former South Korea with a sea basin and a harbor in the center. There are huge arrays of shabby, corroded and overgrown solar panels running across the rooftops and urban canyons. On the ground an invisible mass of people shouts paroles. The peaks of the surrounding hills are cluttered with gigantic wind mills, many of them immobile or visibly broken. INT. AMBULANCE - DAY The treatment room is a hall crammed with patients on filthy camp beds. The M.D. and a NURSE finish their job on dehydrated and seemingly unconscious Chieko by fixing a fresh infusion bag and talk while walking away. Dialogue in Korean. M.D. I have never seen a Japanese before. When I was called, I thought this a joke. They are extinct for... let me think... almost two generations? NURSE Yes, but isn t she pretty? The poor gal! Thrown ashore like a dirty piece of flotsam. What might she have gone through? M.D. I ll call the metro guardians. NURSE No, it s OK. Reception already took care of it.

4 3. Well, then... M.D. CLOSEUP S FACE She wakes up and opens circumspectly squinting her grey-green eyes. She s got plasters on her face and some ointment on her lips. EXT. STREET - DAY Chieko slips out of the door of the ambulance. Her kimono is in a mess like her hair. She is still barefoot and hurries away. Passengers of different ethnicity, most of them noticeably ugly, walk the street. Their dresses look like badly fitting diving-suits made from tarpaulin. Bikes with rear-cars and electric rickshaws pass by. She is obviously a foreign matter, but nobody takes notice of her. EXT. STREET - NIGHT Chieko grubs for food in a waste container. Out of the dark a group of small, hairy creatures approach. They look like eerie old children. Shy like straying dogs they get closer. Then they jump on Chieko and rip off her cotton-kimono. Somebody (O. S.) shouts at them. They disappear with Chieko s robe. She lies naked in the gutter, semiconscious - then passes out. INT. APPARTEMENT - DAY A small, slightly shabby and disorderly place with many ticking clocks. LEE, a Korean in his late twenties, unattractive, but in a somehow likeable way, sits in front of the window at his desk and repairs a clock under a base magnifier. The door to the balcony is open. It s raining. There is a rhythmic riot from a demonstration coming up from the street. As Chieko wakes up in the big bed, Simon stands up and closes the door, but the noise can still be heard. She is naked under the blanket.

5 4. Do you speak Japanese? No. Do you? What... what do you mean? I am talking to you. Yes, you re talking to me. In Japanese! Well, then I wonder how it sounds like when you talk in English? What is English? For example the language we are having this interesting conversation in... (helpless) What is this in your face? You mean my glasses? My spectacles? If this is what you call it - yes. What is it for? Does is protect your eyes? From insects? C mon! You have never seen glasses? No... I mean... yes. Just once. But I could not ask for explanations. So, what is it for?

6 5. I am shortsighted. The glasses improve my sight. But still I don t see well. I m probably more the aural type. Is that a disease? Is it contagious? No, for Buddha s sake! It isn t! Many people have it. It s quite normal. What happened to my yukata? If you mean your dress - they ate it. They... What? Your... thing was made from cotton, right? Yes. How does it matter? It does. Cotton is cellulose. They can digest it. They eat it, like moths. Chieko looks disgusted. (CONT D) How can you not know this? They eat grass, leaves and even wood when there is no other food in avail. They re cow people. There s not so many of them, fortunately. Their reproduction is difficult, most die during infancy. Just another botched genetic experiment. But they are everywhere.